OUR STORY

Since 2017, Maison Intègre has been based in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. We make furniture and objects in bronze from the ancestral know-how of lost wax.
Each piece is made from recycled metals and natural materials. Our workshop brings together about fifteen multi-skilled craftsmen to whom we aim to ensure a regular volume of work, enabling them to make a living from their skills.

By making cultural players aware of this type of approach and by collaborating with international designers and artists, we want to make the work of Burkinabe artisans visible to the rest of the world. Our collections are the result of intercultural collaborations and their commercialization allows craftsmen talented people to improve their living conditions, by making craftsmanship as a lever for economic and social development.

In 2022, we decided to create our own foundry in order to be able to welcome and bring together artisans. Through this project, we wish to be part of a long-term approach of quality and excellence by developing the know-how of lost wax bronze while ensuring that its authenticity is preserved.

MAISON INTEGRE’S WORKSHOP

The bronze sector in Burkina Faso is traditionally organized around small casting and finishing workshops that depend on income from tourism. It is a fairly closed environment where collaborations between master bronzesmith and other skills are rare.

After having worked for five years with different craftsmen independently, Ambre Jarno launched the Maison Intègre workshop in 2022, which brings together all the craftsmen and know-how necessary for the creation of bronze pieces, in Pissy, a popular district. from Ouagadougou.

Today, the workshop federates and brings together all trades with about fifteen craftsmen from different backgrounds, thus creating a beautiful synergy. Craftsmen can thus exchange with each other and discover the know-how of their peers.
Those who wish to enrich their areas of expertise now have the opportunity to train in other techniques. We want the workshop to become a place of sharing, transmission and professional training.

A PLACE OF EXCHANGE AND TRANSMISSION

The bronze craft requires many steps that require specific skills and techniques. The team is made up of fifteen people. Its coordinator, Lazare Ouedraogo, ensures the smooth running of the life of the workshop and the craftsmen. The 3 bronze masters Denis Kabre, Hamadou Aidara, and Harouna Porgo create the wax models of the pieces for which they are responsible. They are surrounded by molders who make the clay-based envelope which will be set on fire and then by smelters who ensure the casting. Then come the welders, the rectifiers and finally the finishers who ensure the quality and the respect of the forms.

Since 2020, a team of French bronzesmiths has been collaborating with Maison Intègre. In their workshop located in the south of France, Lucile Just, Anton Imbert and Yann Pronier intervene on the final finishes of the pieces. They also carry out all the custom-made electrical installations in order to bring them up to international standards and requirements. Their expertise and their sensitivity to the project support Maison Intègre in its quest for quality.

The sharing of skills and methods made it possible to facilitate and optimize the operation of the workshop and the performance of certain tasks.